The present invention concerns management of computing devices and pertains particularly to the use of remote management of computing devices for software metering.
Management information systems (MIS) are used to manage computing devices by monitoring and checking inventory, taking the current status of machine configurations (such as current memory configurations, hard drive capacity, RAM, CPU and other upgrades) as well as to monitor usage patterns. An MIS console 11 for an MIS system generally utilizes a desktop management interface (DMI) located within each personal computer (PC) or server. DMI is a standard interface which handles communication between management applications and all the manageable elements on or attached to a personal computer or server. DMI provides the communication between any management application and the manageable elements on a system. Within the DMI, the standard way of describing elements is provided by the management information format (MIF). The MIF is a prescribed grammar and syntax to an element's manageable attributes. MIF files are standard at the group level and at the element level, so common aspects of many different elements can be provided by using standard MIF files and MIF groups. Standard MIF files and groups exist for many common elements.
Within the DMI, a service layer is a program, running on the local machine or personal computer, that collects information from elements, manages that information in the MIF database, and passes the information to management applications as requested. The service layer controls communication between itself and management applications by means of a management interface (MI) and between itself and manageable elements by means of a component interface (CI). For example, a service layer interface for Windows 3.1X operating system is available from Intel Corporation, having a business address of 2200 Mission College Boulevard, Santa Clara, Calif. 95050.
Within the DMI, management applications are remote or local programs used for changing, interrogating, controlling, tracking and listing the elements of a system. A management application can be a local diagnostics or installation program, or a remote agent which redirects information from the DMI service layer over a network.
Manageable elements are hardware, software or peripherals that occupy or are attached to a personal computer or network server. For instance manageable elements include hard disks, word processors, CD-ROMs, printers, motherboards, operating systems, spreadsheets, graphics cards, sound cards, or modems. Each element provides information to the MIF database by means of an MIF file which contains the pertinent management information for that element. The information in the MIF file is compiled into the MIF database when the element is installed.
MIS managers can query individual machines to access DMIs and MIF databases on individual machines in order to obtain current information stored therein. Based on this information, MIS managers can schedule upgrades for outdated hardware and software configurations.
While an MIS has been used effectively to manage PCs and servers interconnected by a local area network (LAN), there has been no similar effective strategy to manage devices which are not connected to a LAN. For example, there is no effective strategy to manage portable computers which are seldom or never permanently connected to a LAN. Yet with the proliferation of the usage of portable computers, it is desirable to include such devices within an MIS.